My employer has made it manditory for us to get a specific certification. This cert requires travel to California and 8 hours in a lab for the test. The cert has about a 20% pass rate, only 3 people in 6 years here have passed the test the first time and only 400 people in the world have this certification. The employer says:

a. we are required to get the certification
b. They will pay for only one attempt at this ceritification, and we must pay for any other attepts until we pass
c. we are required to take PTO for the time off, we are not paid for the travel time or the time taking the test.

I have been told that a company in Utah can dictate what expenses the employee is responsible for. My question on the expense portion is, what if the employee does not pass the first time, and can not afford the average of $500.00 to travel to California again, what recourse, if any, do we have if we get fired for not having the cert?

Also, if the cert is manditory, doesn't the company have to pay us for the travel time and time it takes for the test?

Any links to documentation about any laws or standard for Utah will be much appreciated.

I tried to call the state labor commission and after many "Ummm, I'm not sure, that's a tough one....." comments, I gave up...

Are you and your co-workers exempt employees?

I do not know what that means exaclty. We work for a large company with several locations. Our group works at our desks answering calls and emails about technical questions. We get paid hourly. Does this answer anything?

Yes, thanks.

If you are being required to obtain the Certification, then that is work time and must be compensated as regular wages. As to travel time being compensible, I don't know what the reg's are in that for Utah, if any. Under federal law, the employee is not required to be paid for traveling outside the employee's normal working hours if they are a passenger on a plane, train, boat, bus, or automobile.

It is not illegal to require you and your co-workers to pay the cost of the certification. Nor do they have to pay for your travel and lodging expenses. That's a matter of company policy.

If you need more clarification, I suggest you contact the State Labor Commission again and if you get a knucklehead on the phone, ask to speak to a supervisor.

Thank you for that. Do you have any links to any documentation about the wage payment part of this?

The sad thing is... the knucklehead I spoke to, was the supervisor... :(

Thank you for that. Do you have any links to any documentation about the wage payment part of this?

The sad thing is... the knucklehead I spoke to, was the supervisor... :(

http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.27.htm
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.28.htm
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.29.htm

http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.39.htm